On February 18th, 2011, our lives were changed forever when our son Christian Taylor Buchanan entered the world. He was born with a bilateral cleft palate and lip and almost completely blind. This blog is the story of his life, the joys we share, the challenges we encounter, and the amazing and trying journey ahead of our family!

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Christian Taylor Buchanan

Friday, January 6, 2012

Just The Way You Are - Disability Days on the Hill

The state legislature often hosts
"Days on the Hill" for a wide array of groups or topics. The name
"Day on the Hill" comes from the fact that the capitol building is perched
atop a high hill right in the middle of downtown Nashville, and the day gives people a chance to gather for at wide variety of topics. Anyone can come to the state capitol and
speak with legislators at any time that the legislature is in session, but
attending during a "Day on the Hill" lets legislators know you are
passionate about an issue.

Days on the Hill are a very important part of the legislative
process because they are one major way that legislators get informed about topics
and how their constituents stand on certain issues. It is also a way to make a presence. When dozens or even hundreds of people gather for a common cause, those who create our laws have no choice but to pay attention. It is also a great opportunity to form a relationship with those who represent you in the law making body of our state government. Still need a few more reasons to attend? It provides a chance to meet with others involved in the disability community and to learn the latest on policies and legislation that affect the disabled community.

This year the Tennessee Disability Coalition
is hosting three days known as
"Disability Day on the Hill." This is your chance to meet with your
senators and representatives and let them know what's important to you and why, when it comes to disability advocacy.
The three Disability Days on the Hill this year are on February 29th, March
7th, and March 14th. On February 29th, Jim Henry, the Commissioner of the
Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities will speak. On March
7th, the speaker will be Tre Hargett, the Secretary of State. On March 14th,
the subject will be the Family Support Program.

I encourage everyone to attend at least one of
these Days on the Hill. These events aren't just for people who have disabilities. If you know or love someone with a disability, work with people with disabilities, or are just passionate about disability advocacy, then you should mark your calender and plan on attending! Make your voice known and let your legislators know
what's important to you. Sarah Sampson, the Communications Coordinator for the Tennessee Disability Coalition, calls Disability Days on the Hill the ". . .treasure of the coalition." Go ahead and call your senator and your representative
now and schedule an appointment to meet with them for ten or fifteen minutes to
discuss disability issues with them. For your convenience, the Courier lists
your legislators' names and contact information in the paper every week!

Once you get an appointment made,
began doing your research and finding out exactly what you want to say to your
legislator. You don't have to write a formal speech, or make a PowerPoint
presentation, but you do need to be prepared to advocate for disability issues.
Pick out one or two things that are most important to you and focus on those.
Find out everything you can about those issues and prepare a few statements
that you want to make to your legislators. You should state what issue you are
discussing, which way you want your legislator to vote, and why you want them
to vote that way. Let them know how voting in the opposite will adversely
affect the disability community.

Ms. Sampson informed me of the hot topic this year among the disability community. Since much of the disabled community is supported by state and federal funding, she explained, the budget is always one of the most significant issues. This year the Family Support Program is especially high on the agenda because it is not included in Governor Haslem's 2012-2012 budget.

There is a ton of information on www.tndisability.org
about Disability Days on the Hill including a link to an email to ask any questions you may have. You can find the dates and information about
the happenings on each day of the event and also links to contacting
your legislators, tracking their actions and votes in committees and sessions,
and keeping up with the latest on disability issues in the legislature. This
website is loaded full so please go and check it out!

Thanks for reading, and as always, if you have comments, questions, or ideas, please e-mail me at laceybuchanan@gmail.com.

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About Me

I am a Christian, mother, wife, daughter, aunt, sister, and friend to some amazing people. I am a student at Nashville School of Law. I work at a daycare. I am passionate about disability advocacy and education.